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Jose Aldo did not have quite the hard time he expected while cutting weight for his bantamweight debut at UFC 245.
Former featherweight champion Jose Aldo did not have to go through such a strenuous process to make weight as he once anticipated, before seriously deciding to make the drop to bantamweight. Now, just days away from his 135 debut against former title challenger Marlon Moraes, Aldo went as far as to say he found the whole experience to be rather easy.
In an interview with Combate, Jose made it clear all he had to do in order to shed the extra weight was follow a more strict diet for a couple of months. Aldo also said that he has already hit the featherweight mark and now only needs to lose the final pounds in order to have a successful weigh-in on Friday.
“I’m fine now. I have already hit the featherweight mark, I’ve been training well and intensely, it has been easy for me. I’m dieting for the first time, so it didn’t hinder me at all. It has only helped. I’ve never been too much of an eater, I always ate healthy. I have always had good nutrition. I was never one to eat junk food. I’ve been dieting for two months, strictly, it was pretty easy.”
Although Aldo has suffered with weight cutting in the past, at featherweight, which led pundits to believe that he would move up to lightweight if he ever changed divisions, the 33-year-old claims to be in the best shape of his life.
“For the first time in my life I feel like when I first arrived in the WEC again. Fast and skilled. I think that’s how I’ll arrive at my new weight. All my training has been based on that. I never trained so well and I’m dieting for the first time. Not a really intense diet, but a good one, that makes me feel well, gives me energy and fuel for me to train hard.”
In his last outing, Jose Aldo (28-5) dropped a unanimous decision to Alexander Volkanovski, back in May. The loss snapped a two-fight winning streak for the Brazilian, who scored TKO wins over both Renato Moicano and Jeremy Stephens.
Now, Aldo is scheduled to take on Marlon Moraes at UFC 245, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 14. The card is expected to host three title shots: A welterweight battle between champion Kamaru Usman and former interim champion Colby Covington, a featherweight title bout between title holder Max Holloway and top contender Alexander Volkanovski, and a women’s bantamweight title fight between ‘double champ’ Amanda Nunes and former featherweight title holder Germaine de Randamie.